Projects

Three-quarters of a million criminal records that are more than a decade old are being revealed to employers on DBS checks each year. That’s one of the findings of a new briefing published by the Centre for Criminal and Justice Studies (CCJS). The research, which we have supported, was featured in The Observer on Sunday

Following the release of the Justice Committee report into disclosure of youth criminal records, The Independent published a letter from Unlock’s Co-director, Christopher Stacey. In his letter Christopher, who gave evidence to the Committee, wrote:- “Thousands of people contact ex-offenders charity Unlock every year because of problems they’re

Unlock responds to Justice Committee report into disclosure of youth criminal records In response to today’s Justice Committee report into the disclosure of youth criminal records, Unlock, a leading independent charity for people with convictions, is calling on the government to drop its legal appeal and get on with reforming the criminal records regime. Christopher

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is introducing basic criminal record checks for people in England & Wales. This replaces the service previously provided by Disclosure Scotland. This is a significant development for both people with criminal records and employers in England & Wales, so we’ve developed a new information page dedicated to basic DBS checks as

The latest blog by Christopher Stacey looks at whether the supermarket in EastEnders broke the law in doing a DBS on Derek? And why did a historic decriminalised offence show up on his disclosure? Read it here.

A criminal record at whatever age can be a real obstacle in getting on in life. But are there specific barriers that people face because of a criminal record that they got as a young adult? In the last couple of years, we’ve worked closely with the Standing Committee for Youth Justice to look at

The Conservative Party has included a commitment in their 2017 manifesto that aims to encourage and support employers to take on people with convictions. It states: “We will also work to help those groups who have in the past found it difficult to get employment, by incentivising employers to take them on. So for businesses

Press release: 3rd May 2017 Ruling gives hope to thousands of people trying to put their past behind them The Court of Appeal has today rejected the Government’s appeal to a decision of the High Court in January last year, which ruled that the criminal records disclosure scheme was disproportionate and unlawful. The judgment, handed down today, involves

Earlier today our co-director, Christopher Stacey, gave evidence to the Justice Committee’s inquiry into the disclosure of youth criminal records. You can watch the session here or below. More information Posts about our work on youth criminal records can be found here. The specific details of the inquiry are here There are more general

As part of our Fair Access to Employment project we’re looking for examples of employers who have carried out inappropriate levels of criminal record checks. We’re gathering this information to feed into our legal strategy which aims to put an end to unlawful criminal record checks. We’re especially keen to hear from anyone who believes

An article published by Nat West suggests that one remedy to fill the UK’s skills gap could be to hire more ex-offenders and discusses what is the best way to go about it. Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, contributes to the article, stating “We know from employers that have been proactive in recruiting people with convictions that they make good employees.